Relax everyone, Paralives lets you kill your Parafolk just like The Sims
The classic 'trap them in four walls' method works, phew
The Sims 4 has long dominated the life simulation arena, but a pair of hopeful rivals are soon stepping into the ring to challenge the undisputed champ. Life By You and Paralives both have grand plans to unseat (or at least share it with) EA’s life sim juggernaut, and they both promise to set themselves apart with features that Simmers have long been asking for. But I only have one question for both of them: can I kill my Sims? Or Parafolk? Or… Lifers? In the case of Paralives, the answer is thankfully a big fat yes.
My Simming days ended in the PS2/DS era, where I mostly played with Sims in the same way that naughty children play with bugs - which entails loads of poking, prodding and other unethical stuff. I’d send my Sims for a nice swim in the pool before deleting the ladders. I’d build four walls around them without a door and watch as they wet themselves, fainted, and woke up again. Standard stuff that most Simmers have done, I swear, judging by viral TikToks that come across my feed.
Thankfully, Paralives’ developer Alex Massé understands the appeal and recently released a short clip (embedded above) showing off the death feature. RIP to Roger, who kneels in pain like he’s just downed an entire fizzy drink. The clip above uses the classic ‘trap them in a doorless room’ tactic, but the video actually exists to highlight the Parafolk’s autonomy.
“In Paralives, your characters will be able to decide to perform some interactions on their own,” reads a Patreon post published in May and recently made public. “This is what we call the autonomy system.” Parafolk will be able to feed themselves, go to work, and use the toilet independently. Similarly to The Sims, whatever they choose to do depends on their personality, so a musician will probably play music to kill time, for example. You can also turn off autonomy to take control of your Parafolk’s every action.
Paralives is shaping up to be an exciting contender in the life sim space - just look at how detailed the fridge’s interior is for crying out loud. Project Rene's (aka The Sims 5) announcement only made our Alice Bee more excited for Paralives, which has been quietly in development for years now. There's no release date yet, but you can find out more on Steam.
In the meantime, please tell me what your favourite Simurder tactics are. This is a safe space. Or do you play life sims like a normal person?